Replica #1 Story: Paul Jenkins Art: Andy Clarke Release: 12/3/2015 Rating: 4/5 Long Boxes "Meet Trevor Carter, an Earth-born peacekeeping agent on the intergalactic hub known as The Transfer. When Trevor’s already near impossible assignment becomes a bit too much for the errant detective, he turns to the only logical ap-proach, Replication. More of a good thing can’t hurt, right? A single clone could be helpful; unfortunately the replication process doesn’t go as planned! Written by Eisner-award winning author Paul Jenkins (Wolverine: Origin, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man) and art superstar Andy Clarke (Batman, Judge Dredd), this monthly series promises to be fun, daring, adventurous and most times, quite offensive." |
Aftershock Comics debut comic Replica #1 by Paul Jenkins with art by Andy Clarke hit the shelves this week with very little buzz. I actually hadn’t heard of Replica or anything about Aftershock Comics until Paul Jenkins’ name at the top of the comic caught my eye on the rack at my LCS. Aftershock was launched in April of 2015 by Mike Marts and Joe Pruett. The initial announced titles from Aftershock have a rather impressive cast of writers already on board: Brian Azzarello, Garth Ennis, Marguerite Bennett, Paul Jenkins, Amanda Conner, and Jimmy Palmiotti. Over the next year or so it will be interesting to see what impact Aftershock can have and what kind of staying power it can develop with such an impressive lineup of comic book writers. That being said, this review is for Replica #1. I expect to give a full review of the Aftershock introductory line early next year (For more information on Aftershock: http://www.aftershockcomics.com/).
Replica #1 is set on the Transfer, a fifty mile haven, home to over a million species, floating in the epicenter of the universe. Trevor Carter, the main protagonist, is tasked with peacekeeping on the Transfer; enforcing human law and keeping over one million different species from killing each other in his precinct. Carter’s partner and fellow peacekeepers under his command are the equivalent of the intergalactic versions of Hitchcock and Scully from Brooklyn 99 (If you are unfamiliar, do yourself a favor and watch the show). Dissatisfied with the frustration of incompetent coworkers and failure to carry out a basic peacekeeping mission Trevor decides that creating a clone of himself will alleviate some of his burdens. Because cloning always works out well in comics, instead of 1 clone, Trevor ends up with 50 different versions of himself, some of which may prove to be equally as incompetent.
Ultimately I found myself really enjoying this comic. Sure a police story set on an intergalactic alien space hub isn’t all that inventive, but the twist of having 50 unique clones of one police officer running around was one that has really caught my interest. Jenkins after one issue captured my attention with strong dialogue and healthy stream of humor throughout the issue. It will be interesting to see how Jenkins develops each of the 50 different unique Trevor Carters running around the Transfer. Andy Clarke’s art was pretty solid throughout the issue, but where I was most impressed was with the various species and Trevor Carter designs. Not only are there 50 unique Trevor Carters, but Clarke creates an array of distinct alien species that are all unique and very well designed.
Although this book lacked a major cliffhanger at the end of the issue that I cared about as a reader, the overall quality of the writing, strong humor, and impressive art is enough to bring me back for another issue. The great thing here with Aftershock presenting a new line of comics is, there is no backstory or anything you need to worry about catching up on before diving into Replica. You are immediately thrown into a story in which most readers will relate to. I’m sure we have all had our own Dark Helmet, “I knew it, I’m surrounded by Assholes” moments in our own jobs. Im very interested not only to see what Replica can bring as a monthly series, but to see what success Aftershock Comics can have with such a strong initial team of writers.
The verdict : 4.0 out of 5 long boxes. Overall Replica is a very approachable #1 comic that I found myself really enjoying. If Replica is indicative of any other Aftershock Comics scheduled to come out you better plan on making room in those long boxes for a new line of comics.
Replica #1 is set on the Transfer, a fifty mile haven, home to over a million species, floating in the epicenter of the universe. Trevor Carter, the main protagonist, is tasked with peacekeeping on the Transfer; enforcing human law and keeping over one million different species from killing each other in his precinct. Carter’s partner and fellow peacekeepers under his command are the equivalent of the intergalactic versions of Hitchcock and Scully from Brooklyn 99 (If you are unfamiliar, do yourself a favor and watch the show). Dissatisfied with the frustration of incompetent coworkers and failure to carry out a basic peacekeeping mission Trevor decides that creating a clone of himself will alleviate some of his burdens. Because cloning always works out well in comics, instead of 1 clone, Trevor ends up with 50 different versions of himself, some of which may prove to be equally as incompetent.
Ultimately I found myself really enjoying this comic. Sure a police story set on an intergalactic alien space hub isn’t all that inventive, but the twist of having 50 unique clones of one police officer running around was one that has really caught my interest. Jenkins after one issue captured my attention with strong dialogue and healthy stream of humor throughout the issue. It will be interesting to see how Jenkins develops each of the 50 different unique Trevor Carters running around the Transfer. Andy Clarke’s art was pretty solid throughout the issue, but where I was most impressed was with the various species and Trevor Carter designs. Not only are there 50 unique Trevor Carters, but Clarke creates an array of distinct alien species that are all unique and very well designed.
Although this book lacked a major cliffhanger at the end of the issue that I cared about as a reader, the overall quality of the writing, strong humor, and impressive art is enough to bring me back for another issue. The great thing here with Aftershock presenting a new line of comics is, there is no backstory or anything you need to worry about catching up on before diving into Replica. You are immediately thrown into a story in which most readers will relate to. I’m sure we have all had our own Dark Helmet, “I knew it, I’m surrounded by Assholes” moments in our own jobs. Im very interested not only to see what Replica can bring as a monthly series, but to see what success Aftershock Comics can have with such a strong initial team of writers.
The verdict : 4.0 out of 5 long boxes. Overall Replica is a very approachable #1 comic that I found myself really enjoying. If Replica is indicative of any other Aftershock Comics scheduled to come out you better plan on making room in those long boxes for a new line of comics.